DXLab Launcher: Controlling Applications

As shown in the annotated screen shot above, the DXLab Launcher's Main window provides three primary groups of controls:

The Main window also provides buttons that display the Launcher's Configuration window and provide access to its online documentation.

The Configuration window's Reset button directs all running DXLab applications to arrange their windows on the primary monitor. This operation is useful if you have switched from a dual-monitor configuration to a single-monitor configuration and need to regain access to windows previously resident on the second monitor.

Each application status indicator's color reveals the state of the DXLab application associated with the button below it:

	Indicator Color	Current State
	red	not running
	cyan	starting
	green	running, not minimized
	yellow	running, minimized
	white	terminating

	Caption	DXLab Application
	cmd	Commander
	dxk	DXKeeper
	dxv	DXView
	pf	Pathfinder
	pv	PropView
	sc	SpotCollector
	ww	WinWarbler

When you click one of these buttons, the Launcher's action is determined by two factors:

Current Indicator Color	Current State	Action	New State	New Indicator Color
red	not running	user clicks Individual Control Button	starting	cyan
cyan	starting	application loads and runs	running, not minimized	green
green	running, not minimized	user clicks Individual Control Button	running, minimized	yellow
green	running, not minimized	user Ctrl-clicks Individual Control Button	terminating	white
yellow	running, minimized	user clicks Individual Control Button	running, not minimized	green
yellow	running, minimized	user Ctrl-clicks Individual Control Button	terminating	white
white	terminating	application terminates	not running	red

Clicking an Individual Control Button starts a DXLab application that isn't running. If an application is running, clicking its Individual Control Button alternates between hiding all of its windows and restoring its Main window. user Ctrl-clicks Individual Control Button. Clicking a running application's Individual Control Button terminates that application.

If the Launcher's Main window is activated, allowing the mouse cursor to hover over an Individual Control Button will produce a popup message describing the action that would be taken if the button were to be clicked or Ctrl-clicked.

If DXKeeper is running and you minimize its windows by clicking its Individual Control Button, it remembers whether or not its Capture window was already minimized. If not, the DXKeeper will restore both its Main and Capture windows when you again click its Individual Control Button.

If DXView is running and you minimize its windows by clicking its Individual Control Button, it remembers whether or not its World Map window was already minimized. If not, the DXView will restore both its Main and World Map windows when you again click its Individual Control Button.

You can optionally specify the pathname of a log file to be opened by DXKeeper on startup.

	Caption	Function
	Start	start all applications whose Enabled box is checked
	Minimize	hide all windows of all running DXLab applications
	Restore	restore the Main windows of all running DXLab applications
	Terminate	if the CTRL key is not depressed, terminate all applications whose Enabled box is checked if the CTRL key is depressed, terminate all applications whether or not their Enabled boxes are checked non-DXLab applications are only terminated if their Main Window Caption is specified (whether or not CTRL is depressed)

If DXKeeper is running and you click the Minimize Button, it remembers whether or not its Capture window was already minimized. If not, the DXKeeper will restore both its Main and Capture windows when you click the Restore Button.

If DXView is running and you click the Minimize Button, it remembers whether or not its World Map window was already minimized. If not, the DXView will restore both its Main and World Map windows when you click the Restore Button.

You can optionally specify the pathname of a log file to be opened by DXKeeper on startup.

DXLab Launcher: Controlling Applications

Displaying the Launcher's Configuration window